RESPONSE 

CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESPONSE 

**In response to the evolving COVID-19 situation, The Melisa Nellesen Center for Autism will implement the following changes while remaining open and operating under modified conditions.**

  1. All public events have been postponed. 
  2. Services are still available to the public but may be provided under modified conditions. 
  3. We discourage everyone from coming to the center until further notice. 

If you need to contact the Center for Autism, please contact us at autismcenter@uvu.edu or 801-863-7620. You may also reach out to any of our staff via phone or email. 
Please refer to uvu.info for the most current information regarding UVU campus as a whole.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION/ UPDATES

Events

All autism center events will be postponed or cancelled. 

**UVU AUTISM CONFERENCE TO BE POSTPONED**

We are so grateful for your support for the 2020 UVU Autism Conference. We have been closely monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak, and we are concerned for the health and well-being of our conference attendees, presenters, and volunteers. In response to COVID-19, all UVU events between March 16 and May 1 will be postponed or cancelled, therefore, the autism conference will be postponed until a later date.

In the meantime, we are issuing full refunds to everyone who has purchased tickets to the 2020 UVU Autism Conference.

Credit card purchases will be refunded immediately. Cash purchases will be refunded through check requests.

Once the conference is rescheduled, we will provide priority registration to everyone who has purchased autism conference tickets.

We again appreciate your support for autism and look forward to seeing you in the future.

For questions, please contact Laurie Bowen at laurie.bowen@uvu.edu or 801-863-8759.

  

**UPLIFTING CELEBRATION FOR AUTISM TO BE POSTPONED**

We are so grateful for your support for the 2020 Uplifting Celebration for Autism. We have been closely monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak, and we are concerned for the health and well-being of our event attendees and volunteers. In response to COVID-19, all UVU events between March 16 and May 1 will be postponed or cancelled, therefore, the Uplifting Celebration for Autism will be postponed until a later date.


RESOURCES & SUPPORTS

General Resources & Supports

COVID-19  Resources & Supports

Education: Resources for Teaching and Learning

Mental Health Resources

Resources for Professionals

 

SPRING 2020 GRADING 

There have been a lot of questions regarding the new grading policy for the semester — is credit/no credit the same as pass/fail, what is best for me, and can I get a refund? The Registrar's Office put together a comprehensive webpage with a lot of information to help guide you through this change.

Please find the time to read through it carefully to understand what your options are for grading this semester.

Spring 2020 Grading

 

School of Education Programs

Autism Studies (Minor & Certificate)

Information for Students Enrolled in Autism Courses

Regarding Credit/No Credit Option

Please refer to information from your respective departments regarding the credit/no credit option within your program.

The following information is specific to Autism courses:

If you are pursuing the BCBA or BCaBA credential, DO NOT select Credit/No Credit grading for these classes.  This will negatively impact your ability to apply to take the credentialing exam.  Please talk with your professor or Dr. Carlson if you have any questions.

Special Education

Information for Special Education Program Students
Regarding Credit/No Credit Option

On Monday, March 30, 2020 Utah Valley University sent you an email entitled “Spring 2020 Grading.”  Based on the unprecedented way the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated universities across the nation, including Utah Valley University, to quickly adapt instruction to alternative-delivery instruction, UVU students are given the option of choosing a letter final grade (A, A-, B+, etc.) or credit/no credit for their classes.  This means that you will make this selection for each course you are taking this semester.

You have been provided a link to a university webpage that presents information about grading options, how to decided which option is best for you (including potential consequences), and how to change your grade. Please look at the information provided on that webpage closely! It provides many important issues you should consider before deciding whether to switch to the credit/no-credit option for a particular class!

It’s also important that you are aware that what is considered credit or no credit can vary across schools, colleges, and programs within UVU. What credit/no credit will mean for the courses within the School of Education that are part of programs that lead to teacher licensure is that credit will be given for work that would receive a B- or better, and no credit will be given for work that would receive a C+ or lower. This is because there is already a program requirement that these classes are passed with a B- or better in order to continue in the program, and the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) requires students to have an overall GPA of 3.0 in their teacher preparation courses to receive a professional teaching license.

Even though a “credit” grade in your courses will allow you to continue in the programs, there are still good reasons to keep the letter grade option. For example, if you are repeating an education class for a higher grade, “credit” will not replace the lower grade and improve your overall GPA. Likewise, if you are working on raising your overall GPA to qualify for program completion and graduation, “credit” will not have any effect on your GPA.

Please note that a Credit/No Credit option for this program could be made available to you only after the Utah State Board of Education provides us with an appropriate permission, which has not yet been given. We expect them to vote on it on Thursday, April 2 or later. Until we have confirmation that “credit” will be acceptable for required courses for this semester, do not plan on taking that option. We will notify you as soon as we receive official word either way.

We realize there may be students, because of the sudden alternative-delivery instruction and/or other life challenges, who feel they are in a situation where credit/non-credit may be the best option for a particular class.  If this is the case for you, before you make this choice, we advise you to reach out to your professor(s) for the course(s) that present a particular challenge.

Again, thank you for your continuing effort to complete your studies and graduate with an education degree and professional teaching license. 

Sincerely,

Dr. Bryan Waite • Chair, Department of Secondary Education

Dr. Vessela Ilieva • Dean, School of Education

Kim Fale • Advisor, Secondary Education

Graduate  Studies 

Information for School of Education Graduate Students

Regarding Credit/No Credit Grading Option

On Monday, March 30, 2020 Utah Valley University sent you an email entitled “Spring 2020 Grading.”  Based on the unprecedented way the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated universities across the nation, including Utah Valley University, to quickly adapt instruction to alternative-delivery instruction, UVU students are given the option of choosing a letter final grade (A, A-, B+, etc.) or credit/no credit for their classes.  This means that you will make this selection for each course you are taking this semester.

You have been provided a link to a university webpage that presents information about grading options, how to decided which option is best for you (including potential consequences), and how to change your grade. Please look at the information provided on that webpage closely! It provides many important issues you should consider before deciding whether to switch to the credit/no-credit option for a particular class!

It’s also important that you are aware that what is considered credit or no credit can vary across schools, colleges, and programs within UVU. What credit/no credit will mean for the courses within the School of Education that are part of programs that lead to teacher licensure is that credit will be given for work that would receive a B- or better, and no credit will be given for work that would receive a C+ or lower. This is because there is already a program requirement that these classes are passed with a B- or better in order to continue in the program.

Even though a “credit” grade in your courses will allow you to continue in the programs, there are still good reasons to keep the letter grade option. For example, if you are repeating an education class for a higher grade, “credit” will not replace the lower grade and improve your overall GPA. Likewise, if you are working on raising your overall GPA to qualify for program completion and graduation, “credit” will not have any effect on your GPA.

Please note that a Credit/No Credit option for this program could be made available to you only after the Utah State Board of Education provides us with an appropriate permission, which has not yet been given. We expect them to vote on it on Thursday, April 2 or later. Until we have confirmation that “credit” will be acceptable for required courses for this semester, do not plan on taking that option. We will notify you as soon as we receive official word either way.

We realize there may be students, because of the sudden alternative-delivery instruction and/or other life challenges, who feel they are in a situation where credit/non-credit may be the best option for a particular class.  If this is the case for you, before you make this choice, we advise you to reach out to your professor(s) for the course(s) that present a particular challenge.